November West Texas Intermediate crude
US:CLX5
settled at $49.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.62, or 3.4%, after tapping a high above $50 following the Fed meeting minutes. Prices haven’t settled above $50 since July.

“The Fed minutes seemed to inspire some last-minute buying” in oil, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “While the Fed says they believe that the conditions may be in place for a [rate] increase this year, the lack of inflation is causing them some pause.”

Higher interest rates tend to be supportive for the U.S. dollar
DXY, +0.53%
which can be a drag on dollar-denominated assets such as oil.

Flynn also said there is speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could hold an emergency meeting as early as later this month. The market has been plagued by rumors surrounding the potential for special meeting for months.

Meanwhile, Russia escalated its assault on opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s regime with its first naval bombardment on Wednesday. The intervention added to the uncertainty in the Middle East, one of world’s biggest oil-producing regions.

“Very cautious statements by the NATO chief also has the market concerned that Russia will not be restrained in their activities, leaving a stronger likelihood that this military campaign could spread regionally,” said Tim Evans, chief market strategist at Long Leaf Trading Group.

Before the Fed minutes, Tariq Zahir, a managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors, said gains in crude were really due to technical trading.

“We have technically broken out of the range we have been in the last month or so,” he said. On Tuesday, WTI oil prices settled at their highest level in five weeks.

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